


mistletoe and the inevitability of kisses

by nicole_writes



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Gryffindor!Hazel, Hogwarts AU, Hufflepuff!Percy, Merry Christmas, Merry PJO Christmas, Ravenclaw!Leo, Ravenclaw!Reyna, Underage Drinking, gryffindor!jason, happy holidays, holiday fic, hufflepuff!frank, jasper - Freeform, ravenclaw!annabeth, slytherin!piper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9052159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicole_writes/pseuds/nicole_writes
Summary: " 'Wait, why did Piper make it snow?' Percy asked, nudging his girlfriend. 'Because she's a crazy snake that loves Christmas and wants to snog Jason senseless under the mistletoe.' " Jasper Hogwarts AU. 2016 Holiday Fic





	

When the cold walls of the dungeons started feeling like ice cubes against her fingertips, Piper knew that it was almost Christmas. Despite the chill setting in her bones, she smiled and threw on an extra layer. Her housemates glared at her like she was crazy, but Piper ignored them. She didn't care if no one else in Slytherin House showed Christmas spirit, she loved the holiday. Yet, the frosts were early this year and that probably explained the scepticism of her friends. She was sure they'd warm to the idea once December actually hit.

Piper loosely secured her tie and grabbed her bag, stuffed with her morning class books, and left the common room. Without the crackling fire, the rest of the dungeons were actually rather cold and Piper quickened her pace, heading for the Great Hall. Other students were streaming to and from the Hall, but Piper knew the person she was looking for would still be dining at this time.

She strode through the doors into the hall and instantly picked out the blonde head against the wave of students. Piper strode through the crowded hall and plunked down on the wooden bench next to one of her best friends. Annabeth didn't even blink in her direction as she turned the page of the heavy book resting on the table in front of her. Piper rolled her eyes and began helping herself to some food off the Ravenclaw table.

"Again Piper?" a familiar voice teased. Piper looked up and grinned. Reyna shook her head, her dark braid sliding over her shoulder. "Do you ever eat at the Slytherin table?"

Piper tapped her index finger against her chin and thought about it. "Nope," she replied cheerfully after a second. Reyna slid into her seat across from Piper and Annabeth. Like Annabeth, her robes looked as neat as ever and her tie was tightened perfectly around her throat. Reyna cast a slightly grumpy look at Piper's tie, but the Slytherin was perfectly happy to ignore her.

As she continued to eat her breakfast, Piper began humming a Muggle Christmas song under her breath. The Great Hall seemed to pick up on her mood as over her head, and by extension over Annabeth's, it began to snow lightly. The flakes were light and harmless and disappeared as soon as they came into contact with anything, but Piper still grinned. Reyna just rolled her eyes and filled her goblet with hot chocolate. Annabeth however, finally looked up from her book and glared at Piper.

"It's snowing," the blonde grumbled. Piper just smiled. Annabeth huffed. "Come on Piper, it's only November 27th."

"You say only, I say finally," Piper replied cheerfully. "The stones in the dungeon are cold," she added as if that explained it all.

Annabeth sighed and flicked her wand up, dispersing the snow, but she didn't say anything else in reply to her friend. She did, however, put her book away and finally begin eating her breakfast. Piper nicked half of one of Annabeth's pastries and the Ravenclaw just sighed and flicked the rest of it onto Piper's plate. Across the table, Reyna was scribbling on a piece of parchment that looked suspiciously like the Charms homework Piper deliberately had forgotten.

Before she could ask which assignment Reyna was working on, a third Ravenclaw joined their little group, sliding in next to Reyna. His hair was wild and curly as usual and he had his usual mischievous smile painted onto his face. Leo leant over and plucked the quill out of Reyna's hand, reading her work over her shoulder.

"Did Miss Perfect finally forget to do a Charms assignment?" he teased.

Piper watched Reyna's cheeks flush a little as she snatched her quill back from Leo. "Lay off," Reyna snapped. "We can't all be perfect at Charms without trying you know," she grumbled.

Piper acknowledged that she had a point: Leo was very, very good at Charms considering he did none of the work for the 6th year class. Still, he never topped Annabeth, who worked the hardest of the group. The previous year, when she was a 6th year, Annabeth received straight O's in the class. Reyna tended to do better than Leo too, but Flitwick could never dock too many marks from him due to his natural talent. Piper reckoned if he was really trying, he might, might, be able to beat Annabeth's record. Still, she would steamroll him in Transfiguration, so it wasn't much of a contest there.

"Hey Beauty Queen, where's Thomas?" Leo asked curiously, looking right at Piper.

Annabeth paused and looked at her too, but Piper just shrugged. Thomas Mitchell was the Gryffindor Keeper in Annabeth's year that Piper had been casually messing around with recently. She didn't particularly like Thomas, but he wasn't a bad bloke so she kept him around. At the Slytherin party last night, however, Piper hadn't felt anything and when Thomas had tried to actually ask her out, she just flat rejected him and walked away.

"You dumped him?" Annabeth guessed.

"If you say we were dating then sure, I dumped him," Piper replied easily. She hadn't lost sleep over it.

Reyna craned her neck over Annabeth's head to glimpse the Gryffindor table. "Well, I don't see Thomas, so maybe you did actually hurt his feelings."

Leo snorted. "Thomas Mitchell? The guy who thoughtlessly tried to tie Frank's shoelaces together in first year and kiss Annabeth in front of Percy in third year? That guy doesn't have a brain cell, much less feelings." Piper laughed and even Annabeth chuckled.

Reyna smirked suddenly. "Although," she said, looking slyly at Piper. "There is a Gryffindor staring in this direction and I don't think he's looking at Annabeth or Leo, and I know he's not looking at me."

Piper twisted in her seat and briefly made eye contact with the guy staring at her. Jason Grace, Gryffindor Chaser, instantly turned red and looked away. Piper smiled softly. Jason was honestly one of the nicest guys in her year and she thought he was pretty cute, so it didn't bother her that he was the one she'd caught staring. She twisted back to face her friends and was unable to hide the smug look on her face.

"Piper, I don't think I've ever met anyone who can fluster Jason like you," Reyna remarked in disbelief, shaking her head.

"Well, it's almost December," Piper mused. "You know what that means."

"Christmas break?" suggested Leo.

Her lips quirked up. "Mistletoe."

\- ~ -

That evening Jason was distracting himself by mulling determinedly at the schedule he had planned for Gryffindor's next Quidditch practice. He was the team captain and even though the end of term was coming up, he was determined to win their last game before the break. Yet, he had a problem. It was the very same problem that caused him to force himself to stare at his books instead of letting his eyes wander.

If he lost focus for even a second, he knew he would do like he did in the morning and seek her out. He'd find her sitting at the Slytherin table, a rare occurrence, and he would stare. Still, it irked him a little that he knew where she was sitting despite his complete focus being on not staring at her. The fact that Piper McLean could always distract him, no matter the situation, would have been frustrating if he didn't get so flustered in her presence.

She was his problem on the pitch too. Gryffindor's last game was against Slytherin in a week and that meant Jason would have to face Piper. To his dismay, she was also a Chaser so they ended up checking each other quite regularly when they played. This usually ended with him staring stupidly after her as she nimbly flew around him with a few eyelash flutters thrown in. It really didn't help that every time Jason saw his Keeper, he wanted to knock Thomas' teeth in.

He did draw comfort from the rumours that Piper had knocked Thomas flat on his ass with rejection. It was the talk of the upper years and Jason kind of wished that he'd been at the party to see it, but he had learned by fourth year to avoid any party that Piper would be at.

Jason blinked and realised to his frustration he'd zoned out and his eyes had wandered to the back of her head across the Great Hall. As he tore his gaze away, the table bumped and someone slid into the seat across from him. Percy's tie was missing and the top button of his shirt was undone. Under the yellow-lined robe, Jason noticed the seventh year had rolled his sleeves up to his elbow. Jason really didn't understand how Percy was dating the Head Girl.

"So," the Hufflepuff drawled cheerfully, glancing over his shoulder. "How goes the staring match with the back of Miss McLean's head?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "You were the same with Annabeth."

"Past tense," Percy agreed. "Now we're dating and I get to stare at her all I want. You, on the other hand, have still not asked her out."

"Are we talking about Piper?" a new voice asked. Jason glanced to his left and saw two newcomers approaching. Hazel was the one who had spoken and Jason was very happy to see his fellow housemate, even if she was going to join in the teasing. She usually took his side.

"Absolutely," Percy confirmed.

Hazel slid her wand behind her ear, holding back a wild curl and she slid onto the bench next to Jason. "You're not very subtle," she informed him. The fourth year was very mature for her age so no one in the crowd of sixth and seventh year's minded having her around.

Frank, Percy's housemate and Hazel's boyfriend, slid in next to her. "She's really nice if you'd talk to her," he added helpfully.

Jason sighed. "Guys you saw what happened to Thomas. Plus, I'm a little too busy for a relationship."

All three of his friends gave him sceptical looks. It was no secret that he was busy, as captain of the Gryffindor's Quidditch team and the Dueling Club, but he was also aiming for the Head Boy position for the next year. Everyone seemed to agree that Jason could probably devote a little more time to his social life than he did. However, before anyone could voice their argument, Annabeth basically threw herself down onto the seat next to Percy.

She flopped half on him and half on the table and groaned. She looked exhausted and Jason recognised the 'I-stayed-up-too-late-studying' look. He'd seen it many times in his own reflection. The Ravenclaw Head Girl didn't move from her position for a while, despite the eyes of all the friends trained on her. Finally, she lifted her head and stared right at Jason.

"She made it snow this morning," Annabeth grumbled. Her eyes were dull and annoyed at the memory. She dropped her head down onto her arms against the tabletop again.

"Wait, why did Piper make it snow?" Percy asked, nudging his girlfriend.

"Because she's a crazy snake that loves Christmas and wants to snog Jason senseless under the mistletoe," Annabeth muttered. Her words were muffled through her face down position, but Jason caught enough to make him flush.

His eyes skittered to Piper over Percy's shoulders. She was surrounded mostly by other Slytherins, but there was a Ravenclaw boy on her left that Jason instantly identified as Leo, one of their mutual friends. He knew she had made it snow, he'd seen it, and he figured she liked Christmas because all through their Transfiguration class, she had been humming Muggle songs under her breath. Still, he wasn't sure what to make of the last bit of Annabeth's statement.

"Guys, maybe we should just leave him alone," Hazel suggested gently to the others. Jason looked at her and was about to thank her, but the younger girl just smiled playfully. "He'll figure it out once Piper starts covering every doorway he walks through with mistletoe."

Jason let out a long sigh. "What friends," he mumbled.

"Just promise me two things Grace," Percy cut in. Jason stared the senior student in the eye. "Number one: consider asking her out. She really does like you. Number two: try not to fall off your broom next week when she inevitably bats her eyes at you for a distraction. Slytherin doesn't need the lead going into January."

\- ~ -

"We're going to crush them," Spencer Zhi said firmly. He was pacing the Slytherin prep room in front of the team and Piper was watching him, only half interested in what he was saying.

The rest of her attention flitted between stroking the handle of her broom and rearranging her emerald uniform. It wasn't a flattering colour for the entire uniform, but otherwise, her gear was well-worn and comfortable. She'd been playing since third year and was now one of the team veterans. Though she was a girl, and the smallest on the team, she was invaluable.

At her first tryout, Piper had remembered the looks she'd gotten from Spencer and the other team members, some of whom seemed to have been twice her size. Yet she's zipped neatly through any defence they could throw at her. She made up for her lack of size and bulky strength in agility and accuracy. She loved Quidditch and though she didn't particularly care for schoolwork, she kept her grades well above the team requirements.

Spencer was the captain and he was also the biggest guy on their team. As Keeper, he was also the oldest veteran on the team. He was going to be tough to replace next year, after he graduated. Shay and Stephen, siblings in her year, were the Beaters, and Shay was one of Piper's only close friends in Slytherin House. Kristie was the Seeker; she was in fourth year, but very fast and had a good eye. The other two Chasers were Jeff and Kyle. They were both towers of muscle so Piper was the agility between the three. Still, they worked well together. Kyle was her age, but Jeff was graduating this year.

"Gryffindor wins too many titles," Jeff agreed with Spencer. He was clipping on his shoulder pads and Piper smiled at his statement.

"We need that lead going into second term," Shay continued. She and Stephen were all suited up and ready for action.

Spencer summoned the team in and Piper pushed up from the bench, her broom held tightly in her left hand. They formed a circle and Spencer began going over their game plan again. Internally, Piper tuned him out and began running the plays she remembered from Gryffindor. Jason Grace was a man of strategy, so all she had to do was pick it apart.

After a few more minutes, they were summoned to the pitch. The crowds were cheering loudly and the stands were a sea of Christmas colours. Piper thought she could just barely make out her friends in one of the towers with mixed fans. Percy was in head to toe red, she wasn't surprised, but the others seemed to be restraining from favouritism. She snapped her attention back to the field and marched out over the frosty grass towards the centre of the pitch.

Gryffindor took the field opposite them and Piper found herself looking straight into the piercing blue eyes of Jason Grace. He was looking at her too, face serious, and Piper smirked. Maybe picking apart his strategy was going to be easier than she thought. She winked at him and relished in the surprise that rippled momentarily across his face. He shook it off quickly, but it was enough to get her confidence up.

At the whistle, both teams mounted their brooms and took to the air. When they were fairly high, they stopped rising and just hovered. Piper, and everyone around her, bent low over her broom. The crowd's sound faded as she readied herself for the match. She waited for one second, and as the piercing whistle sounded, she shot forwards.

She caught the Quaffle quickly, the familiar wooden weightthunking against her chest. Her arm snared around it and she held tight, zipping towards the Gryffindor hoops. In her peripheral vision, she saw her teammates racing with her, as well as her tail, Jason Grace, closing the distance between them. Still, Piper stayed ahead of him and after a simplediek to confuse Thomas, sent the Quaffle sailing into the right hoop. Points dinged onto the scoreboard for Slytherin and the game began.

\- ~ -

In the end, Jason didn't really have to worry about being distracted by Piper. She was more distracted by him. Every time they flew past or with each other, Piper seemed to get distracted by the seriousness of his expression or his sense of seemingly unwavering determination. Honestly, he looked hot, and it frustrated her to no end as he snagged a pass headed in her direction.

She spun and flew after him, but her focus was jaded now and she didn't hear the whistle of an approaching Bludger. She pulled closer to Jason, pressing her top speed and was about to reach for the Quaffle when her teammate's shout finally hit her ears.

"Piper, look out!" Shay yelled.

At the last second, she spun to the side and the Bludger sailed past her. She almost exhaled in relief, but then she was tipped off her broom. Her hand lashed for it, but she was too late. Her last minute dodge had unbalanced her and she'd fallen off her broom. Panicking, she flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to slow her descent, but it the ground wasn't getting any further away.

Just a few moments before she impacted, Piper shut her eyes and waited for the pain. A split second later, she felt a cushion of some sort wrap around her and her velocity was abruptly slowed, but not halted. Then she hit the ground and she heard the sharp grunt of pain from the person who'd tried to help her. Piper's eyes snapped open and she focused on the face of her saviour as they lay on the ground.

Jason's arm was wrapped tightly around her and he was flat on his back. His eyes were closed and he was definitely unconscious. Pain flared up Piper's left arm, but she still shifted out of his grip and went to make sure that Jason was alright. As she moved, she was suddenly grabbed from behind by Professor Plunkett, the Charms professor. The professor pulled her away from Jason as the nurse descended upon the fallen Gryffindor and levitated him onto a stretcher.

A snowflake caught in her eyelashes and she blinked it away. The other players from both teams were landing across the pitch and running towards her, but Piper just watched numbly as Jason was stolen away.

\- ~ -

Whenever he woke up in the hospital wing, Jason felt sick. Not because he was going to puke, but because he could never remember how he ended up there. This time his chest was aching badly and his head was swimming. He tried to sit up, but the sudden stabbing fire in his chest halted him and he sunk back against the bed, groaning lowly.

"I wouldn't move," a familiar female voice advised.

Jason turned a little on the mattress and spotted the speaker. She was sitting in the chair next to him staring down at him with her multicoloured eyes sparking. Piper's left arm was in a sling, but otherwise, she looked unharmed. Her Quidditch robes were gone, and Jason noticed dimly that his were too. He wasn't sure exactly had happened, but he remembered the whistle of the Bludger and Piper being on his tail and then suddenly she wasn't.

"What happened?" he asked cautiously.

Piper squirmed a little in the chair. "I fell off my broom and you dove after me, but when you tried to catch me we fell off your broom and hit the ground."

"Oh," Jason replied stupidly. "Are you okay?" he continued.

"Fine, just a busted arm. I'll be fine in no time. I should be asking you that question," she admitted.

Jason took a deep breath and tried to sit up again, but his head spun and his chest tightened and Piper's good arm gently pushed him back to the bed. He lifted one of his hands, despite them feeling like iron weights, and touched his head tentatively. His fingers brushed against the coarse material of bandages. Now that he was evaluating himself, he noticed that there were also some kinds of bandages wrapped around his chest.

"Three broken ribs and a concussion," Piper supplied helpfully before he could ask.

"Oh," Jason muttered again.

They were quiet for a moment. Piper shifted in her chair and Jason wondered if she was going to leave, but she didn't make any moves to do so.

"Thank you," she said finally. "You saved me from much, much worse and now you're stuck here and there's only a week until you leave to go home."

"I'd do it for anyone," Jason assured her, and then he regretted his words. It felt less personal if he said it that way. "And I'm not going home," he mumbled, "so there's no reason to feel bad about that."

"Not going home?" Piper inquired. He glanced at her and saw her kaleidoscope eyes showed genuine surprise. "Don't you have family back at home? You are a Pureblood, aren't you?"

"Yes," he admitted hesitantly. "But, my parents are going away for Christmas so it appears like I'm going to be stuck here."

"Well that makes two of us," she said, a tiny and bitter smile curling up the edges of her lips.

Jason digested that for a second. "Don't you have family to go home to?"

"Just my dad," she explained, "and he's a Muggle, so it's probably better this way."

He didn't really have a reply for that so he settled for silence. Piper quieted too and the pair sat in silence. Jason wracked his mind for anything he could say to strike up conversation, but his mind was irritatingly blank. It wasn't that he didn't know anything about Piper, but they shared very few classes together, didn't hang out often, and never hung out with their mutual friends at the same time. It didn't help that she was a Slytherin and he was a Gryffindor either. Still, Jason thought she was a really nice person, and she was astoundingly pretty.

Next to him, Piper's giggles snapped him out of his reverie.

"What is it?" he asked, confused.

"Your brow creased and your face got all serious like you were thinking really hard and your bandages ended up looking strange," Piper confessed, stemming her laughter into a genuine smile.

"Ah well I have enough practice in getting these things to look weird," Jason said, a smile of his own appearing. "They tend to look especially funny if I do this," he continued and pulled the strangest face he could muster.

Piper cracked up instantly and Jason laughed too. Her laughter was clear and a little deep, but it suited her sassy and bright personality. It was beautiful and when she finally managed to control it, Jason found himself wishing that she was still laughing. Piper's lips curled into a smirk and her eyes twinkled mischievously.

Before she could say anything else, there was a loud thud followed by raucous laughter just outside the doors of the hospital wing. Then there were loud, familiar voices and Jason realised that his team was probably coming to visit him. Jason glanced at the Slytherin Chaser; she suddenly looked much more pensive and nervous.

The voices of his teammates grew louder and closer and Piper stood from her chair. "The green potion on your nightstand is for pain, and the orange one will put you to sleep." She gave him one last smile before she turned to walk away. She apparently changed her mind mid-step as she quickly pivoted back around to face him.

She leant down and her dark hair, pulled into a ponytail, brushed his neck as she planted her lips softly on his cheek. "Thanks again Grace," she said. This time she turned and walked away briskly, leaving him blushing and helpless against his pillows.

Just before Piper could open the doors, Thomas opened them and the Gryffindor team stepped into the Hospital wing. There was a long awkward pause as Piper and Thomas sized each other up. Several of his teammates glanced between Piper and Jason as if trying to understand the situation. It didn't help that a couple knew about Jason's crush and the captain sunk lower on the bed, wishing he could just sink away.

"McLean," Thomas finally said, his voice a little cold. "What are you doing here?"

"I was getting my pain potion," Piper said easily, brandishing a bottle of green potion identical to the one on Jason's side table. "Also, I wanted to thank Jason for catching me," she tagged on, looking back at him with a sweet smile. Jason's cheeks flushed again, but Piper kept her face perfectly neutral.

"Well I mean, he didn't exactly catch you," one of the Beaters, Kylan, muttered.

Piper cast him a hard look before she smiled and pushed straight through the team and out the doors. Jason watched her go with a soft smile of his own. She really was something else. The rest of his team then hurried towards him, some expressions curious and others were just sly. Thomas, in particular, looked a little peeved. Jason couldn't help but feel a little smug; Piper had never been that playful or nice to Thomas.

Jason's friends crowded around him and presented him with a large 'Get Well Soon' card. He laughed when he saw it because drawn crudely underneath were Chasers from the other three houses clearly tailing behind a drawing of someone he supposed was supposed to be himself. When Olivia and Kylan opened the card, it started singing Muggle Christmas songs and Jason laughed.

He wasn't particularly fond of being in the infirmary, but maybe this time it was okay.

\- ~ -

"Party on Friday, Pipes," Percy said slyly as they passed in the halls.

Piper halted in her walk and snagged Percy's sleeve as he went by, turning and walking in the same direction as him. "Where, why, when, and who's coming?"

"Room of Requirement, because everyone goes home on Saturday, starting at 8, and most of the good sixth and seventh years," Percy answered. Before Piper could even ask, he continued, "We made sure Thomas won't be there, so don't worry. And the room will supply the booze. Just bring the Snakes, alright?"

Piper laughed. "I'll let everyone know, but I might not come."

Percy cast her a sideways glance. "You've never missed one of Leo and my parties before. Plus as a double incentive, I'm making sure that Jason will be there, since he's fully recovered, and I'm sure the Room will make sure you have lots of mistletoe to snog him under."

Piper rolled her eyes, but didn't deny the fact that it did sweeten the idea in her mind. "I'll see you Friday night then," she relented.

\- ~ -

It was the last Christmas party for the seventh years, Percy had argued stubbornly and Jason had gotten annoyed so he remembered finally agreeing to come. Now that the party was in full swing, he was almost regretting showing up. The music was loud and though it was a good mix, it was starting to give him a bit of a headache. He had mostly recovered from his concussion, but the Firewhiskey in his hand was still probably a bad idea.

There had already been three girls try and snog him and he'd only been there for fifteen minutes. Percy and Annabeth had vanished into the throngs of people and left him alone. Reyna had been with him for a bit, but she'd disappeared to regulate Leo's drinking, so Jason was left alone standing on the edge of the dance floor.

Another girl who he recognised as a seventh year Slytherin sauntered up to him. "So Grace, care to take a girl for a spin?" she asked slyly.

"Sorry Cat, he's spoken for," someone interrupted before Jason could turn her down.

Jason turned and saw his saviour: Piper McLean. Her hair was down and tousled and she was dressed to party in shorts and a crop-top that accentuated her curves. She had a bottle of Firewhiskey clutched in her hand and a smirk was playing on her lips. Her cheeks were flushed and Jason figured she was already drunk, or at least on her way there. Cat, the seventh year, frowned at Piper but did walk away.

"C'mon Superman, you have to stick up for yourself," she teased lightly.

"I could have handled that," Jason argued, looking anywhere but at Piper.

She leant up and poked his cheek, getting a little in his face. "You're adorable." He looked at her and was startled by how close they really were. Piper smiled lopsidedly at him. "Well usually I'd use hot, because you totally are, but tonight you're just adorable." She leant away from him and handed him her bottle. "Have another drink pretty boy and lighten up. I'll find you later," she informed him. Piper winked, spun on her heel, and disappeared back into the dancers.

Jason stood, stupefied, on the spot and glanced between her bottle and where she'd disappeared to. Maybe, he prayed, she was drunk enough that she wouldn't remember it, but he knew he wasn't that lucky. Piper would be back. A quick glance above his head revealed that there was a tiny sprig of mistletoe just starting to grow. Jason groaned. He was really going to need another drink to deal with this.

\- ~ -

Piper was buzzed. She'd had a little more to drink than she usually did, but right now she was doing just fine. She had talked with a few people for a while, but then she'd gotten to dancing. Partway through one dance, she had spotted Jason Grace looking adorkably awkward on the edge of the dance floor as Caterina Sworzen, seventh year Slytherin, approached him.

Piper, though drunk, knew that nobody liked being hit on by Cat, so she had sauntered over and rescued him. She'd flirted and he'd blushed and it was adorable. Still, their interaction had lost her her alcohol, but she was buzzed enough. She resolved that she would finish this dance and then go search out her Gryffindor boy.

As the song transitioned into the next one, Piper slipped to where she'd last seen him, but he was gone. She frowned and just leant against the wall. She surveyed the crowd and spotted Reyna and Leo, Annabeth and Percy, and several others she knew, but no Jason. She shrugged. She'd find him before the night was over.

Jason actually ended up finding her and Piper smirked. He was talking to Connor Stoll, a seventh year Slytherin that Piper was mildly acquainted with. She didn't reckon that Connor would mind if she stole Jason away. She approached and tapped Jason on the arm. He turned and his eyes found her. His cheeks flushed and he smiled awkwardly.

Piper noted briefly that the bottle she'd given him was missing at least two drinks and she grinned. "Can I borrow him?" she asked Connor. The Stoll just waved his hand and Piper beamed, dragging Jason away by the arm.

"Piper?" he interrupted. She stopped and looked up at him. "How drunk are you?"

"Pretty," she admitted.

Jason inhaled deeply. "This is going to sound awkward, but I'd really, really like to kiss you, but I'd like to do it when we'll both remember it."

Piper put her hands on her hips. "I promise I will remember every moment of a kiss between us. It's not like I've wanted to snog you senseless since halfway through third year." Admittedly, Piper knew she wasn't going to remember much from the night, but if she kissed Jason Grace, she'd remember.

Jason laughed and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I just wish I could say the same for myself. But, the wanting to snog you part is pretty true on my end too," he admitted. "I'm calling it a night here, but I guess I'll be seeing you around over the break."

Jason gave her one last charming smile before he walked away and Piper frowned. A tiny leaf fell from above her head and she looked up: there was a mistletoe plant over her head that was shrivelling up and disappearing. Piper frowned. Not only had he not kissed her, but he had left her sinfully unkissed under the mistletoe.

\- ~ -

The next morning, Piper was hungover and she honestly didn't remember much of the previous night. She dragged herself up to the Great Hall and practically collapsed into a free seat at the Ravenclaw table and yawned. Reyna and Leo were seated opposite her and Annabeth was nowhere to be found. Reyna laughed at Piper's expression.

"Do you need a Pepper-Up?" she offered.

Piper stared at her. "Oh my Merlin! Reyna, you are a saviour!"

The Ravenclaw girl just laughed and passed Piper a sample of the potion. She downed it quickly and exhaled in relief. Reyna studied her for a moment. "Was it worth it?"

Piper shrugged. "I don't know. I had fun, but I don't really remember much of what happened."

"Well as I overheard, like a ninja," Leo supplied, "Jason didn't kiss you because he wanted to remember it, but he promised you'd see him during the break."

Piper froze. "Wait what? I talked to Jason?"

Reyna laughed again. "Piper, you hit on him, hard."

Piper groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Oh Merlin smite me now!"

"Relax girl," Reyna consoled, he flirted back. "You two were even under the mistletoe together, but he didn't kiss you."

An image of Jason's handsome, flushed face flashed across Piper's memories. "I remember that," she mumbled. She straightened up and looked to the Gryffindor table. "I guess I owe him a kiss then."

She couldn't spot Jason at the table, but she'd see him sometime over the break and he owed her a snog, preferably more than one.

\- ~ -

Jason was a coward. He didn't deserve to be in Gryffindor and he really should have been in Hufflepuff.

He was avoiding Piper. He remembered everything from the night of the party, but word of mouth told him that Piper didn't remember much. He avoided her, worried that she didn't actually recuperate his feelings. The Saturday after the party was easy enough with all the chaos of people leaving, but in the five days that had followed, it was increasingly difficult.

He had to constantly change his meal times and his routes to get places and even avoided hanging out anywhere outside of his common room, just so he wouldn't run into her. It was awkward and yet he felt it was necessary. He was embarrassed. Jason had nearly ruined all his chances with her when he was drunk, and it was completely mortifying.

Somehow, he kept avoiding her until Christmas Day itself. Piper had picked up on the fact that he was avoiding her. It was kind of cute, but she was also getting frustrated. All she wanted to do was kiss the dumb boy, but she couldn't even be around him long enough to do so.

On Christmas, she was making her way to the Great Hall from the dungeons and she physically collided with him. Jason instinctively grabbed her arms to keep her steady and instantly flushed when he realised that it was Piper he'd collided with. She stepped out of his personal space and studied him. He was wearing his normal uniform, minus the robe, and he held a small wrapped box in one hand.

"Delivering presents?" she inquired curiously.

Jason shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. "Sorry," he blurted. Piper blinked. "For avoiding you," he elaborated.

Piper's lips twitched upwards. "Don't worry about it. It was kind of adorable."

"But, yeah, I am delivering presents," Jason continued, his words rushing together. He stopped and took a breath. "This is for you, actually," he admitted and lifted the box up and offered it to her.

Piper stared at the boy in front of her. She hesitantly took the box and peeled back the wrapping paper. She opened it and was immediately in awe of the touching gift. The stone was moderately sized on a silver chain and it changed colours rapidly, yet subtly. It was beautiful. Piper admired it for a good minute before she looked up at Jason.

"It's beautiful," she said gratefully.

"It reminded me of your eyes," Jason confessed carefully.

Piper smiled. An idea struck her and she stepped a little closer to him, enjoying the new shade of red his ears turned. "I happened to get you a present too."

Jason's brow furrowed as he clearly noticed she wasn't holding anything, but Piper just reached up and tugged on his tie, pulling his head down to hers and kissing him hard. After a few seconds, she leant back and smirked.

"Don't run away from girls under the mistletoe Grace, it's bad form," she instructed. Jason was gaping at her like a fish and she laughed. "Come on, if you keep your mouth open any longer you'll catch flies," she teased.

Piper stepped away from him, cradling his gift gently. "Happy Christmas to the cowardly Gryffindor," she said cheerfully, winking at him before she strode off towards the Great Hall.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't quite sure where I was going with that ending, and I'm not sure it's the best ending, but it's Christmas and I'm not good at writing on a deadline.
> 
> Anyways, Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate, and to those who don't, have a happy holiday season!
> 
> don't forget to speak up
> 
> \- Nicole


End file.
